By Justine Jones
Kenny Manigault tallied 24 points and seven rebounds as the Fraser Valley Bandits (3-0) topped the Saskatchewan Rattlers (0-3), 86-66 on Thursday afternoon at the Abbotsford Centre.
For the third straight game Fraser Valley had a different player head the charge. In their season opener it was Alex Campbell who led all players with 25 points off the bench and in game two CEBL veteran and Abbotsford, B.C., native Marek Klassen topped the scoresheet with 21 points.
“With the depth that we have, with the multiple playmakers we have, any night it can be somebody’s night and we are very happy the ball is getting spread around,” said head coach Dave Singleton. “It’s important for us to continue to have all of our players confident that they can step up at any moment.”
Although only two players (Klassen and fellow guard Malcolm Duvivier) remain from last year’s roster that made a remarkable run to the CEBL Championship finals, this new squad has adopted a similar attitude and is playing with a chip on their shoulder. Fraser Valley has established itself as an early championship contender with their three statement victories.
“There’s always stuff to get better at, we’re never going to relax here that’s not the way we do it, that’s not our culture,” said Singleton. “We want to make sure we’re taking it one game at a time and staying humble and in the moment.”
The Bandits had another strong start, converting defensive stops into offensive baskets. Seven-foot centre Brandon Gilbeck had four blocks, with three of those stops coming within the first three possessions. Establishing interior defence early forced the Rattlers into long three-pointers for the duration of the half while simultaneously sparking the Fraser Valley offence.
“Defense has always been my thing growing up,” said Manigault. “I’ve always used defence to get my offence going. It’s been three games now so it was time for me to find my rhythm offensively.”
Fraser Valley remained aggressive in the lane, drawing fouls, and making tough layups. The Bandits scored 26 of their 44 first half points from inside the paint and driving the ball to the basket early on helped to pull Rattlers defenders in and open up three-point looks for their shooters. With talented perimeter players on their roster including the likes of Klassen, Campbell, and Duvivier, this is a dangerous offence for opponents to matchup against.
Saskatchewan struggled to score in the first half, but a bright spot was their usage of the shot clock. Although the Rattlers were settling for perimeter looks, their patience in running down the shot clock showed they were trying to make the most of each possession. Saskatchewan found success when they were able to get in the lane and attack the basket, something coach Chad Jacobson will continue to encourage his players to do throughout the season.
“Right now we’re just getting out worked. Tonight we lost the physical battle and that’s something we have to address moving forward,” said head coach Chad Jacobson. “We just have to start playing better as a team. It doesn’t matter if we’re playing Fraser Valley or Niagara or whoever it is, we just have to start playing better as a team and worry about the things we can control.”
JaKeenan Gant went down with an injury just before the half and did not return. Gant was the Rattlers’ leading scorer in their first two contests, notching 22 points in their season opener and 13 points in their second game of the year. After Gant left the game, Devonte Bandoo emerged as a leader for Saskatchewan draining shots from beyond the arc and finishing with 25 points on 75 per cent shooting.
“No one wants to lose, so we have to dig deep,” said Bandoo. “You’ve got to give credit to Fraser Valley, they run a great offence and they have a great coaching staff. We tried to figure them out but unfortunately they got the best of us tonight. We tried our best but we have to go back and look at film and get better from here.”
The Saskatchewan Rattlers return home to the SaskTel Centre to host the Niagara River Lions (1-1) on July 4 at 3:00 p.m. ET/ 2:00 p.m. local time. Rattlers fans can return to the arena on July 12 when Saskatchewan hosts the reigning CEBL champions, the Edmonton Stingers. Tickets are on sale now at https://www.therattlers.ca/tickets .
Fraser Valley will continue their home stand when they welcome the Ottawa BlackJacks (1-2) to the Abbotsford Centre on July 3 at 7:00 p.m. ET/ 4:00 p.m. local time.
All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service, CEBL+, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and on Twitch.
A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season typically runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.